Improvement in elastic transfer-plates for graining



R. A. ADAMS.

Elastic Transfer-Plates for Graining.

Patented May 26,1874,

ET- 'i-l 77557665365. [mi/6725074 471m Mplflww UNITED S'r'rEs orrrcn.

ROBERT A. ADAMS, OF HAMMOND, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN ELASTIC TRANSFER-PLATES FOR GRAIN ING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 1513392 dated May 26, 1874; application filed July 28, 1873.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, ROBERT A. ADAMS, of the town of Hammond, parish of Tangipahoa and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful improvements in painting and decorating surfaces of wood, metal, and glass in imitations of veneers and other ornamental devices; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, together with the means whereby I make and apply them successfully.

I make a paste consisting of one hundred parts of rice flour, twenty parts of gum shellac, forty parts of gum arabic, twenty parts of alum, and five parts of glycerine. The shellac may be dissolved in borax. I then make a carving of my design, and make a mold in plaster or other material, and after properly oiling it I cast my plate. I then carefully remove the plate from the mold, and lay it out in an airy place to dry. When it is sufliciently dry I attach a back of cloth to strengthen it. I then sew loops on one end of the cloth forming the back of the plate, to which I attach straps and hooks, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. I then make an adjustable holder composed of two pieces of steel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, arranged so as to slide in or draw out to the different widths of panels.

I consider the advantages of this plate over any compound of glue to be very great, as glue will shrink and swell with the changes of the atmosphere, thereby distorting the figure, and rendering it valueless, whereas plates made by my process will retain their true figure, and may be made to register or fit one color to another. I make my plates very thin and elastic, so that they will easily adapt themselves to sunken panels or uneven surfaces; aud by making my plates larger than the panels or surfaces to be ornamented, I can grain and ornament every part of the same with certainty; and, moreover, by matching the designs on the ends of the plates, I can lengthen the work as much as I desire.

To apply the plates to the work I Wish to ex ecute, I ink the face of the plate with a suitable roller, using an oil-color paint. hen the color is properly distributed I apply the face of the plate to the surface to be decorated, and I secure it by the hooks and adjustable holders before described. I then rub with the hand or a soft pad lightly over the back of the plate, and it transfers the impression of its lines to the work. By this method all the fine lines and fibers of the natural wood can be transferred in oil to a cheap wood, dispensing with the tedious and costly process of veneering.

The plates when notin use should be cleaned with turpentine or benzine, the straps and hooks taken off. The plates can then be rolled up ready for use or shipment, as desired.

Having now .fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An elastic transfer-plate for graining, composed essentially of rice flour, gum shellac, gum arabic, alum, and glycerine, in about the proportions herein named.

2. In combination with the transfer-plate, composed as described, the hooks and adjustable holder, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ROBERT A.- ADAM S.

Witnesses:

ROBERT MATHER, H. G. NnLsoN. 

